| dc.description.abstract | Creation and sustenance of competitive advantage co
ntinues to be the central agenda in strategic resea
rch and
practice. Farms strive to survive and succeed in co
mpetition by pursuing strategies that enable them t
o perform
better than their competitors. Therefore, the study
seeks to assess knowledge management as source of
sustainable competitive advantage and its impact on
the performance of Egerton University farms. Perfo
rmance
was analyzed in terms of productivity and profitabi
lity. The productivity was assessed as mean yields
per acre
for crops such as wheat, barley and maize. The Dair
y sector assessment looked at average milk producti
vity per
cow per day. Profitability was analyzed using Net F
arm Income and Rate of Return on Assets (ROA). The
farm
business is a function of land, capital, labuor and
management particularly that of knowledge. In addi
tion, it is
subject to variability of prices, costs, yields and
seasons. This study was necessary because the farm
businesses
are currently operating under a lot of competition,
and thus the expected outcomes of effective knowle
dge
management led to improved organizational effective
ness, improved productivity, a way to capture best
practices, improved decision making, a more innovat
ive organization, source of competitiveness and imp
roved
performance. The objectives were achieved by use of
both secondary data obtained from the farm account
s and
other productivity records while primary data was c
ollected by the use of structured and semi-structur
ed
questionnaire from people who have had experience w
ith or associated with the running of Egerton Unive
rsity
farms. The data collected was analyzed using descri
ptive and inferential statistics with assistance of
SPSS
software. The hypotheses were tested using Mann-Whi
tney U test and Chi-Square test. The study came ou
t with
the following major findings; first the study estab
lished that the private farms were more profitable
than
Egerton University farms. Secondly, the study estab
lished that private Farms were more productive in b
oth
crops and milk productivity. Third, the study found
out that the private farms were more aware why the
y
acquired the information compared to Egerton Univer
sity farms, a scenario which will make the private
farms
be more competitive than the university farms which
were not clear on their reasons for acquiring info
rmation.
Fourth, the private farms acquired, stored and shar
ed information for their competitive advantage from
various
sources compared to Egerton University farms, a sit
uation which made the private farms be more competi
tive
than the university. | |
